


Birds of a Feather

by GreenVeal



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Bittersweet, Bravo - Freeform, Crowfeather is the second best surprise father with a black motif, Gen, I wrote 80 percent of this in one sitting, Illustrated, ThunderClan, WindClan, and then sat on it for a month, but not the worst one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 11:01:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenVeal/pseuds/GreenVeal
Summary: Crowfeather and Jayfeather have a lot in common, and that's one of the main reasons why they'll never really get along.





	Birds of a Feather

The thunderpath roared up ahead, louder than anything Jayfeather had ever heard in his life. He could already smell the musk of the monsters, and he could feel the way their movements shook the earth beneath them. The strip of rock seemed to go on infinitely in both directions, trapping the monsters in some endless race.

 _There has to be an easier way to get aloe plant_ thought Jayfeather. He slowed his pawsteps, he intended to stay as far away from the thunderpath as he possibly could.

Crowfeather noticed the other cat lagging behind. With a huff he brushed his tail across Jayfeather's muzzle. "We'll reach the overpass soon, follow me closely.".

Jayfeather drew his ears flat against his head, partly to make his frustration known, partly to drown out the constant howl of the thunderpath. "I'm blind, not stupid. I can keep myself out of a monster's jaws!"

Crowfeather scoffed. "I think you'll be able to manage that, seeing that monsters don't have jaws."

Jayfeather opened his mouth, waiting to think of a biting comeback, but his mind had gone blank. Instead he glared in the general direction of Crowfeather's voice.

As Jayfeather moved closer to the thunderpath he began to truly realize the scale of the thing. It wasn't just louder and busier than any thunderpath Jayfeather was familiar with, it was also much larger. Like a river of monsters.

Crowfeather, however, was entirely unaffected by the massive path. He trotted directly up to it and turned parallel to it, moving in the same direction as the monsters. Jayfeather followed after the Windclan deputy, much to his own dismay.

The two cats walked alongside the thunderpath for foxlengths, it felt as if half the day had passed in the silence. Every few breaths a monster would whip past at some impossible speed, and Jayfeather would absentmindedly wonder how they moved, he couldn't make out any footsteps, just a constant droning cry as they shot across the stone-like path beneath them. He eventually decided he didn't really want to know. He'd already learned that monsters didn't have mouths, that was more than enough information for one trip.  
  
Up ahead and in the distance, Jayfeather could hear the sound of another thunderpath. It merged with the one beside him in some way, but he couldn't quite tell how the monsters avoided colliding with each other.

"We're halfway there." Crowfeather said. "Can you make out the overpass from here?"

"The what? The other thunderpath?" Jayfeather listened to the new path more intently now. It was less active than the one he and Crowfeather had been walking alongside, but it was still definitely a thunderpath.

"Yes, one thunderpath overlaps the other, like a fallen log over a stream. We're going to walk over the fallen log."

Jayfeather thought the sound of the monsters had made him hear incorrectly. "I have never crossed a fallen log crawling with twoleg-filled monsters."

"We won't be in their way, there's a small ledge on the side of the thunderpath. If you can't keep your balance, tell me now. I'll get the aloe on my own."

Jayfeather raised his head and narrowed his eyes. Briskly, he walked ahead of Crowfeather. "We're not on Windclan territory anymore, I can handle myself just fine." He snapped.

After he said it, Jayfeather vaguely regretted lashing out. Windclan was being extremely courteous by leading Thunderclan to their aloe supply. But even that goodwill couldn't turn Crowfeather into an agreeable cat. Or himself, for that matter.

Jayfeather walked past the Windclan deputy, and he reached the edge of the smaller thunderpath quickly. With his head held high he found the ledge on his own, it was made of the same rocklike material as the rest of the thunderpath, warm to the touch, and about the width of two cats standing shoulder to shoulder.

Something occurred to Jayfeather as he hopped unto the ledge. They weren't on Windclan territory anymore.

"How do you know this thunderpath so well?" Jayfeather asked, letting his voice soften to a neutral tone.

Crowfeather sighed, "We aren't that far from Windclan territory. It's good to know your borders.".

They had passed the Windclan border a long time ago, but Jayfeather didn't push the subject. Instead, he began crossing the thunderpath. The ledge led him up, over the massive thunderpath, and surprisingly high up off the ground.

He realized that Crowfeather was slowing down, he turned around, but Crowfeather spoke first.

"It's beautiful up here, especially with the sunset behind us. Do you want me to describe it to you?"

At first Jayfeather didn't quite know how to respond. He didn't think he'd ever heard Crowfeather sound so friendly, it must have been quite the view.

"Why not? Go ahead." Jayfeather mewed, tempering his voice slightly. Hopefully he sounded somewhat sociable.

"The sun is going down, and it's turned the sky completely red. The sunlight is coming in through the trees behind us. It bounces off the glossy shells of the monsters, who have beams of light shining from their eyes, and red light trails behind them as they move." Crowfeather paused, only to take a deep breath. "It stinks, but so does most of twolegplace."

Jayfeather slowed his walking and tried to picture the thunderpath as Crowfeather had described it. He'd seen sunsets and trees before in his dreams, but the monsters themselves were hard to imagine. "What color is the thunderpath?"

"Black, with yellow markings, like tabby spots." Crowfeather sounded almost pleased, Jayfeather wondered if he was proud of himself for putting the view into words.

Jayfeather could see it in his mind's eye, but he didn't see the appeal. "You come here often, don't you? Do you just come for the view?"

Crowfeather inhaled, and Jayfeather thought that only a Windclan cat could manage such deep, clear breaths. "I come to this place for the privacy, it clears my head." He said, his voice had started out harsh and commanding, but it faded halfway through the sentence.

He pushed Jayfeather forwards with his muzzle, he was surprisingly gentle, if only to avoid pushing the blind cat off of the ledge. Jayfeather took the opportunity to ask another question. "Is this what the journey to the lake was like?"

"No, not at all" The Windclan deputy meowed.

He didn't elaborate, and the two cats faded back into an uncomfortable silence. They crossed the ledge quickly after that, and when they reached the twolegplace Crowfeather directed Jayfeather to a small twoleg garden. Jayfeather smelled the aloe the moment they reached it.

The walk back to Windclan territory was uneventful. Jayfeather now knew the path, so he led the way.

Harestar walked up to Crowfeather the moment they entered the camp, pulling him away from Jayfeather to help with a patrol on the Riverclan border. Jayfeather didn't interrupt their conversation to say he was heading back to Thunderclan. He planned on getting back to his medicine cat duties as quickly as possible anyway.

[](http://tinypic.com?ref=wjt4ox)

"He looks more like you than Breezepelt, actually." Harestar said as the medicine cat left earshot. Crowfeather chose not to comment on Harestar's remark.

"Ah. But, sir, I've been walking all night and then some, I don't believe I'll be able to lead a patrol until I get some rest."

Harestar closed his eyes, and then sighed.  
"Dusk patrol then. Your duties as deputy take precedence over a Thunderclan cat."

"I'll leave now, for the dawn patrol."


End file.
